Printing press



' June 20, 1944.

J. F. HAWLEY PRINTING PRESS Filed May 16, 1941 Patented .lune 20, 1944 PRINTING PRESS John F. Hawley, Riverside, Ill.'

Application May 16, 1941, Serial No. 393,717

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a printing press, and more particularly to a multi-color printing press.

It has heretofore been customary in multicolor printing presses to employ a plurality of form inking rollers having composition surfaces for bringing the ink to the printing plates, which are'carried by the printing rolls. It has also been c-ustomary to employ metal printing plates in combination with composition form inking rollers.

One of the disadvantages arising from such Yuse of metal printing plates and composition form' inking rollers is the relatively short llife ofthe' composition form inking rollers and plates. The composition form .inking rollers are also relatively sensitive to changes in atmospheric conditions, such as the relative humidity, and do not always give satisfactory results.

- According to the present invention, resilient printing plates, preferably of rubber or a rubber composition, are used in place of the former metal printing plates, and metal cr other rigid form inking rollers are employed in place of the composition form rollers. two form inking rollers, or only a few form inking rollers, to each printing press give better results than the larger number of composition form inking rollers heretofore used with each printing roll. Furthermore, the metal form inking rol-1ers have practically an indefinite life of usefulness and are therefore much less expensive in the-long run than composition form inking rollers.

*Itis therefore an important'object of thisinvention to provide a printing press in which the printing rolls carry resilient printing plates, such asl plates formed of rubber, rubber composition or the like, and in which the form inking rollers associated with the printing rolls are provided with metal or other rigid surfaces for transferring the ink to the resilient printing plates.

'It is a further important object of this invention to provide an arrangement of printing rolls and cooperating form inking rollers wherein' the form inking rollers bear directly against the printing rolls and are positively driven by means of 'gears carried by the printing rolls and form inking rollers.

IAnother important object of the invention is to provide means for distributing uniform thin layers of ink over the form inking rollers.

"This invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawing and hereinafter more fully described. l

On the drawing:

Figure l is an end elevational View, with parts` 55` bears the desired printing indicia 25; the raised I find that one or` broken away, illustrating a printingpressembodying the principles of my invention.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary top plan view of the same.

As shown on the drawing:

The reference numeral I0 indicates a sta` tionary printing press side frame on which are mounted a plurality of printing rolls H journa'led at their ends in bearings I2 carried by the side frame lll. On one side of the printing press, the shaft carrying the printing rolls'- llV are provided with gears I3, which mesh with other gears lll on the corresponding ends of the shafts of the usual backing rolls.

i3 one with another. The web W of paper is taken off a roll I6 and fed into-the printing press in the usual manner.

' In the type of printing'press shown, which' is a three color job, a part of the press is movable into and out of operative position; The movablepartis generally indicated bythe reference numeral I1 and is provided with'a manually operable rack and pinion arrangement IS for movement along side guide rails IS. Said movable part Il carries a plurality of form inking rollers 2B, which are journaled at their ends inthe sidewalls of the press part Il. `Instead of three" or more form inking rollers to each printing roll, I prefer to employ only two form inlring rollers and to provide the driven end of each of the form inking rollers witha gear 2l which meshes with the gear of the corresponding printing rollers 2U are in bearing'contact with the printing rolls that they serve. Y

Each of the printing rolls ll is provided with raised, annular end bearing rings or flanges 2'3, which are preferably formed of hardene'dmetal.

The intermediate portion 3i! of each roll il isy cylindricaland carries one or more printing plates 24. The printing plates are preferablyV formed of flexible resilient material, such as rubber, rubfber composition, or a llamination ofv fabric and rubber composition and are provided on their back with a pressure sensitive adhesive that. en-

ables the platesV to be proper-ly positioned and secured to the intermediate cylindrical surface of 'the printing rolls.` Each printing plate 24 Idler gears I5 serve to connect the several printing roll gears surfaces of which are substantially flush with the surfaces of the annular bearing rings or anges 23. This is accomplished by making the thickness of the printing plates through the raised printing indicia the same as the height indicated by H, of the raised annular iianges or rings 23 above the cylindrical surface of the printing rolls.

Each of the form inking rollers 20 is made of metal or other rigid material such as stone and is cylindrical throughout its length. Annular end portions 26 may be made of hardened steel for bearing against the annular bearing portions 23 of the printing rolls. rollers 20 thus presents a rigid surface for contact with the ink receiving surfaces of the printing plates.

Vibrating rolls 32 are used to aid in the uni- Each of the form inkingV form distribution of the printing ink on the surface of the form inking rollers 20. These vibrating rolls may be double acting, being actuated by means that include a collar 33 on the shaft of the form inking rollers 20. The collar 33 is provided with a cam groove 34 for guiding a pin 35a in the free end of an arm 35 pivoted at 3E on a lug 31 projecting from the press part l1. Another arm 38k also pivoted at 36 and rigidly connected to the rst arm 35 transmits a longitudinally reciprocal movement to the vibrating roll by means of a pin 38a fitting in a circumferential groove 39 in a collar 40 on the shaft of the vibrating roll.

Owing to the fact that the form inking rollers are positively driven from the printing rolls by intermeshing gears i3 and 2|, there can be no `slippage between the contacting surfaces of the formV inking rollers and printing rolls, or between the ink receiving surfaces of the printing indicia on the printing plates and the surfaces of the form inking rollers. The printing plates are built up or otherwise adjusted on the printingrroll so that the highs of the printing indicia or the like define a truly cylindrical surface everywhere fiush with the surfaces of the flanges A23. When the movable press part I1 is adjusted so that the flanges 23 contact the end portions 26 of the rigid form inking rollers, the surfaces of the latter will barely contact or kiss the printing indicia on the printing plate with an accuracy. so great that with a 100 line screen, the ink will not go into the depressions on the plate but will remain on the highs. Washing up, which is necessary when conventional rub-V ber or other flexible form inking rollers are employed, is thus eliminated.

For satisfactory results, the printing plate should be adjusted on the printing roll with an accuracy on the order of 0.001 inch. The form inking rollers and the printing roller, including their contacting end surfaces, should be perfectly cylindrical, and the form inking ,rollershould be rigid.

The merely kissing contact of the form inking rollers and the printing plate which forms an importantV feature of the present invention can also be effected by other stop means than the hard bearers shown herein. These bearers need not be made of hardenedmetal, but may be formed of soft steel, cast iron or the like. Other gear means than those shown may be employed to insure that the` form inking rollers' have the same surface speeds as the printing plates.

The absence of slipping contact between form inking rollers and printing plates as well as the absence of pressure on contact therebetween or when impressions are taken results in a much longer life for the plates than was previously realized and also in a more even distribution of the printing ink. The resiliency of the printing plates, of course, diminishes the likelihood of any wear on the printing surfaces or the form inking rollers. Printing plates have double the useful life heretofore expected when employed in the printing press of the present invention.

The vibrating rollers 32 may be formed of glueglycerine-water compositions well known to the art, or rubber or rubber compositions or other soft and resilient material. A stroke of one inch the roll I6 through the printing press to receive the successive imprints of ink or color from the several printing plates. The printing plates are positioned in proper registration so as to give the desired multi-colored imprint on the web. The operation of multi-color printing presses is so well known as not to require any further explanation here.

The means and methods according to the present invention are not limited to the preferred examples described hereinabove but include generally a flexible, resilient printing plate coacting with a rigid form inking roller and means for maintaining a merely tangential contact between form inking roller and printing plate as well as vibration rolls coacting with the form inking roller. The methods of this invention may be broadly characterized as including, in the method of inking a resilient printing plate lfrom a rigid form inking roller, the step of disposing said plate and roller in tangential contact. It is therefore not my intention to limit the patent granted on this invention otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a printing press, the combination with a printing roll carrying a resilient printing plate and having a rigid annular bearing surface, of a metal form inking roller contacting the raised printing indicia on said plate and bearing directly against said rigid annular bearing surface and of a resilient vibrator roller contacting said metal form inking roller. 1

2. In combination, a printing roll having rigid bearing surfaces adjacent the ends of said roll and a rigid form inking roller bearing directly against said surfaces together with a resilient vibrator roller contacting said form inking roller.

3. In combination, a printing roll-having raised annular hardened rigid bearing surfaces adjacent the ends of said roll and a metal form inking roller bearing directly against said surfaces, together with a resilient roller contacting said metal form inking roller and means for positively vibrating said resilient roller.

. 4. In combination, a printing roll having rigid bearing surfaces adjacent the ends of said roll, a rigid form inking roller bearing directly against said surfaces, a shaft for said inking roller, a collar having a cam groove alixed to said shaft.

said frame and rigidly connected to the pivoted end of said first arm, said second arm having a pin at its free end seated in the circumferential groove in the collar on the inking roller shaft, said collars and arm coacting to vibrate said resilient roller longitudinally when said inking roller is rotated.

5. In a printing press, apparatus for inking a resilient printing plate comprising a rigid body having a cylindrical surface, means for attaching the reverse face of said plate to said surface, another rigid body having a cylindrical surface adapted to be covered with a iilm of ink, means for kissingly contacting the highs of said plate while the reverse face of said plate is attached to said rst surface, with said second surface adapted to be covered with a film of ink, and a resilient vibrator cylinder contacting said second surface to distribute said lm of ink uniformly.

JOHN F. HAWLEY. 

